XINING, June 27 (Xinhua) -- How do animals living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau coexist and adapt in such an extreme environment? Chinese scientists have uncovered distinct synergies between diet and gut microbes that support the ecological adaptation and coexistence of species on "the roof of the world."

This study offers a brand-new perspective into the relationship between the gut microbiota and large herbivores' environmental adaptation and ecological niche differentiation, according to the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (NWIPB), under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Conducted by a research team at the NWIPB, the study has been published in the journal Communications Biology.

With an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is one of the world's highest-altitude ecosystems, characterized by a harsh natural environment with low oxygen levels, freezing temperatures and limited food sources. The extreme nature of the environment poses severe challenges to the physiological regulation and ecological adaptation of the animals that live there.

"Our team is specialized in animal ecology and resource conservation, and our ambition is to uncover the secret of how can large herbivores coexist and adapt to the extreme plateau environment," according to Zhang Tongzuo, a researcher at the NWIPB.

The team selected two typical species--Tibetan argali and blue sheep--to explore why the two species of herbivores coexist so well in a similar plateau environment by studying their gut microbiota and dietary composition.

Zhang explained that ecological niche differentiation means that in an ecosystem, different biological populations avoid direct competition and achieve stable coexistence through differences in resource utilization, space utilization and environmental adaptation. It is a key mechanism enabling species to coexist, thereby maintaining ecosystem stability.

Despite inhabiting similar environments, the two species harbor distinct microbial compositions and functional profiles. Tibetan argali mainly inhabit open alpine meadows with a relatively narrow diet spectrum, while blue sheep are mostly distributed in steep mountainous or cliff terrains with a more diverse diet.

The team's comparative study involved collecting fresh fecal samples from Tibetan argali and blue sheep living on the Kunlun Mountains. By applying metagenomic sequencing, high throughput sequencing and other diverse tech, they were able to examine the gut microbiota and dietary composition.

"Interestingly, higher dietary diversity does not necessarily correspond to higher microbial diversity of them," Zhang said.

Tibetan argali, despite having a simpler diet, possess a more diverse and flexible gut microbiome, while blue sheep show broader dietary preferences and stronger microbial metabolic adaptation to glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, showed the study.

The study found significant associations between gut microbiota composition, function, and diet, thus supporting the microbial contribution to animal's coexistence and ecological balance on the plateau.

The study also found differences in the composition of antibiotic resistance genes between the two animals, suggesting that such indicators are promising for the future health assessment of wild animals.

"Our findings will be valuable for supporting the protection of endangered species and the sustainable development of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecosystems," Zhang said. ■